


You're Everywhere I Didn't Expect

by freetolive603



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 17:17:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3419042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freetolive603/pseuds/freetolive603
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kisses, they changed. She felt something different every time his lips grazed a different part of her body. Sometimes, it was wild butterflies in her stomach. Other times, it was the skip of a heartbeat. But no matter what, there was no one that could make Mindy Lahiri feel as much as Danny Castellano could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Everywhere I Didn't Expect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GloriaGilbertPatch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriaGilbertPatch/gifts).



> I am SO sorry to my lovely GloriaGilbert for posting this so late. I wanted to finish the whole story and post it instead of splitting it up in multiple parts. I hope you like it!

The kisses, they changed. She felt something different every time his lips grazed a different part of her body. Sometimes, it was wild butterflies in her stomach. Other times, it was the skip of a heartbeat. But no matter what, there was no one that could make Mindy Lahiri feel as much as Danny Castellano could.

**Cheek**

He started with a simple kiss to her cheek on Wiener Night. It was unfamiliar and unexpected, a gesture of thanks as he went off with some other woman. There was no sexual tension at all, even though Mindy looked really freakin’ hot in that black dress, and honestly, she was both surprised and disappointed at that.

Her stomach didn’t feel too great that night.

**Hair**

Mindy and Danny always butted heads, ever so different from one another. It was ironic that Danny, with all his planning, and Mindy, with all her romantic spontaneity, would end up with the same kind of heartbreak at the same time.

Danny was weak for Christina, no matter what she had done to him. He could feel his resolve breaking and heart jumping into his throat every time her lithe body stood in front of him. All those dreams of a life together wouldn’t get washed away with one mind-numbingly jarring scene, after all. Even if kids weren’t in their future, he could still see the two of them together twenty years down the line - sophisticated, elegant, formal. Christina would be in a mid-length gray dress with little details around the neckline, and Danny would be in a crisp black suit. His wide smile would show his pride in his wife’s latest photography exhibit as they hobnobbed with his rich hospital department head colleagues and her worldly friends. That sounded pretty nice to him. Secure. Safe.

At least he wouldn’t be lonely.

Mindy was head over heels for Casey. He was fun and exciting, a complete surprise. After all, for someone who didn’t even know that there was a difference between Lutherans and Catholics, falling in love with a pastor was not on the cards. She could imagine them having really cool kids and living in the suburbs (I know, crazy, right?), Casey driving around their kids in his Pacific Blue minivan and Mindy planning cute little block parties with a talent show that she won every year.

It was going to be _so much fun._

Of course Mindy and Danny would only grow closer after they both lost Casey and Christina, the two people they expected to spend the rest of their lives with. That kind of heartbreak was reserved for the unlucky few who had something to learn about not settling, only it had to be the hard way.

They quietly got up from their wooden seats and put on their jackets of choice – Danny’s, an old tan leather, and Mindy’s, a patterned hummingbird yellow. It was the third time they had gotten lunch together that week alone. They never really brought up the fact that their picture-perfect dreams were both chucked away at the same time. It was the mature way to handle it, they reassured themselves.

“Thanks, Min.”

She looked up at him and tilted her head to the side. “For what?” she said while pulling her dark brown hair out of the jacket collar.

He pressed his lips against her hair, then stumbled away and cleared his throat. She looked down awkwardly, not knowing what that touch meant or why she felt a rush through her body.

He gathered his confidence as he led her away from the dark teal and gold embellished walls of the restaurant. He spread his fingers across the small of her back. “The food here wasn’t half-bad.”

Mindy rolled her eyes. Leave it to Danny to ruin a moment.

“Yeah, yeah. Now, can we please go get chocolate croissants before work? I have to see Mrs. Simmons today, and I cannot get through that appointment without one.” Her eyes bulged out as she shook her head in annoyance.

“Min! We’re gonna be late!” Danny shouted as they ran across the crosswalk.

“Shut up, Danny. No one’s gonna die if we’re five minutes late to work.”

“No, but they might give birth!”

Mindy exclaimed, “Who gives birth in five minutes?!”

He shut his eyes in acquiescence. “Fine, fine. Let’s go.” She grabbed his wrist and led him to the nearest coffee shop in excitement.

**Lips**

God, was her stomach dancing? The shock was evident on her face and in her frantic movements. She was desperate to hold onto him in any way she knew how. Danny was a slippery slope, and he could catapult you to the other end without you even catching on. Mindy refused to let go.

His lips, though, God, his lips. They moved rhythmically against hers as he swallowed her feelings into his chest. She placed her hand on it and could feel his frenzied heartbeat. She was too afraid to check for her own.

**Shoulder**

The couple had rushed out of work together before anyone else could tag along. Mindy cited the excuse that she needed to ride the subway with Danny because her outfit had real gems on it that made her an easy target for the growing number of jewelry thieves in Manhattan. Considering Danny’s prowess at the gym and his increasingly obvious soft spot for Mindy, no one questioned him becoming her new bodyguard.

“Danny,” Mindy said with a determined voice.

“Hmm?” he looked up at her from the paper he didn’t get to finish reading on that morning’s subway ride.

“I’m bored.”

His patience was evident in the soft and slow manner in which he spoke. He smiled, “I’m almost done reading, babe.” He kissed her shoulder, which really didn’t feel that satisfying. She knew how that kiss could feel when the thick material of her green and white dress didn’t act as a barrier between his lips and her skin. Mindy pouted to indicate her displeasure. Danny whispered, his breath hot on her neck, “The paper, that is.” He looked down at her chest suggestively, “I have a lot more…reading to do tonight.”

She bit her lip and tried to hide her wide-eyed shock by looking down. Where the hell was the Danny she knew? This unfamiliar one was forward and sensual in a way she had never imagined. Then again, being on the other side of that relationship hadn’t exactly given her the same…exposure to him.

Whether she drew it out of him, he got excited by their clandestine relationship, or he just happened to be really sexy behind closed doors, all Mindy knew was that she liked this. She liked this a lot.

**Neck & Jaw**

He loved ravishing her when she was lying on her bed. It was where she was the most comfortable, which meant she gave him even more of herself than usual.

Danny transitioned smoothly between neck and jaw, over and over and over again. He held her face in place with both hands, his fingers only shifting when being replaced by the softness of his lips. Sometimes, the only reason Mindy would push his lips into hers was to stop him from riling her up any further. She pressed her body even closer to him as she deepened their kiss. The sensations dropped to the pit of her stomach and below, pounding at her insides. She didn’t know how long she could hold on.

Danny moved his lips to her chin, then down the side of her neck, purposely pressing harder against a birthmark he noticed. Upon hitting the collar of her sweater, he started placing kisses that followed the outline of the V-neck. Mindy grabbed onto his hands tightly and arched her back when his lips hit dangerously close to her chest at the deepest point in the cut, but that only resulted in his lips going further below than intended. She gasped. He continued back up the collar to her shoulder, then collarbone, then the other side of her neck. Mindy practically forgot how to breathe in those moments. Her legs were squirming, and she was sure she looked like a disheveled mess with her dark hair sprawled out on the white pillow and makeup completely smudged.

He rolled off of her in defeat, chest heaving and sweat gleaming on his forehead. “Damn it, Min. I can’t believe I gave up before you did.”

“Hey,” she began in a sickeningly sweet voice. “Not everything is a competition.” Danny believed her for a hot second before she continued, “But some things are, and I totally won tonight!”

He groaned and grabbed a pillow from behind his head to stuff into his face. He didn’t want to hear her gloat about how she could hold out longer than he could. Not again.

The off-key singing was getting unbearable, so Danny tossed the pillow on the floor and fastened his lips back to her neck. “We’ll just see who _really_ wins tonight.”

“Bring it on, Dan-Man!”

**Hand**

It was nice to go out and do something elegant every once in a while. She loved getting dolled up and pretending she was in the climactic scene of a romantic comedy, and he really didn’t mind putting on a suit. The classic simplicity felt familiar to him, much more so than any of the outfits she had tried to make him wear.

“I feel like a princess,” she giggled as they walked arm-in-arm. “We’re like _Beauty and the Beast_ , Danny.”

He moved his head in a thousand different directions, trying to spot the foreign restaurant name amidst the strip, as he absentmindedly asked, “Didn’t Beauty wear yellow?”

“Her name is _Belle_ ,” she protruded her tongue for emphasis. “And I can be the modern-day reincarnate of Belle who wears pink.”

“Sure, Min. Whatever you say.” Danny paused for a moment before actually registering what she had said earlier. “Wait, why do I have to be the Beast?!” he nearly yelled.

Mindy calmly linked their hands and brought his up to her lips. “Because of moments like that, my love.” Her eyes immediately darted to a glitzy sign. “Ooh, there it is! Come on, Danny!” She pulled him towards the restaurant as he shook his head in resignation.

**Thighs**

She reclined against the padded headboard and stretched out her legs. Mindy could feel the tension in her neck after a particularly long day. It seemed like her days were just getting longer and longer. She felt like she spent every night with a stack of paperwork and a purple pen to make up for the hours she missed at work for all those doctor’s appointments.

Danny lay down across the bed with his head resting on her thigh. He could hear the baby kicking every few hours and for that, this somewhat uncomfortable position was worth it. It had been a while since the last, so he decided to have some fun with his overly stressed out fiancé. In hindsight, planning for a wedding and baby at the same time was not ideal.

Danny pinched the rough cotton of her white and periwinkle blue pajama shorts and tugged it up slightly to expose a few more inches of skin. He pressed his lips against the expanse.

Mindy nearly dropped everything in her hands in surprise. “Danny! What are you doing? Don’t surprise me like that! You’ll end up with a black eye if this clipboard falls on your face!”

“I’m not doing anything,” he grinned widely. He moved his kiss up higher by an inch. If he got any closer…

“Danny, I am pretty sure your unborn child would not appreciate seeing mommy and daddy like this.” Mindy said confidently, quirking her eyebrow and throwing her clipboard to the side.

“Like what?” he grinned mischievously. He looked like the Cheshire Cat as he let his teeth graze over her (thankfully shaven) legs. Mindy placed her hand in his black curls and started ruffling them. He leaned into the sensual touch, heat catching at his throat.

“Like mommy with her big ol’, unsexy stomach that serves as a constant reminder that there’s a child inside of her…”

He looked up at her, his eyes sparkling in comparison to the dull brown of his T-shirt. “Enh, I wouldn’t say it’s unsexy.”

“Shut up, you perv,” she scolded, swatting his head. Mindy looked down as she spoke to her child. “See, Aria? I told you your daddy wasn’t _always_ an old grump.”

He shot up from his resting position. His back was suddenly pin-straight, and his hands clutched onto Mindy’s shoulders. “ _Aria?_ We’re having a girl?! When did you find out?”

Mindy groaned in annoyance as she mentally reprimanded herself for spilling the beans. “Like two days ago? I was going to tell you, but I wanted to have a list of names first so you couldn’t beat me to it.”

Danny smiled gently and scooted closer to her, stroking two fingers across her palms. “I love the name Aria. I think it’s beautiful that you chose an Italian name.”

Mindy raised her hands in surrender. “Wait, it’s Italian? I was just naming her after the hot girl on _Pretty Little Liars_!”

“Mindy!” Danny slapped his forehead in frustration.

**Forehead**

Baby Maddie did not make it easy on her mama, refusing to budge for 18 hours. Mindy had yelled at Danny for passing his stubbornness onto their tiny, inevitably sweaty child sporadically throughout the waiting period. Every extra minute felt agonizing, and she really just wanted to get it all over with.

Sometime around seven in the morning, Mindy started screeching. “The nurses switched!” The young, red-haired nurse stared back at her wide-eyed and quickly exited the room upon seeing Danny’s wave of dismissal. “You see that, Danny?! Now, I have to build a relationship with this new nurse and tell her my celebrity encounter stories _all over again_.” Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her hair was as messy as could be, not a single strand in place.

“Yeah, of course, Min. It’s your worst nightmare,” Danny deadpanned without looking up from a _National Geographic_ magazine. He was decked in a black leather jacket, T-shirt, and jeans and seated in a characteristically uncomfortable plastic chair. For a place that emphasized health, you would think they would provide chairs that naturally allowed for better posture.

She dramatically fell back onto the bed. “Don’t start with me! I’m about to have your child here!”

That was the last new nurse Mindy had to acquaint herself with, but Danny would bet she would have shared her celebrity stories at least two more times had it not been for Maddie’s sudden compliance to her daddy’s soothing words. Or maybe she just got tired of her mommy yelling.

Danny spent the two hours after Maddie’s birth warding off the excited visitors Mindy’s room as she got some well-deserved rest and directed them all to the nursery to see the baby. Without Mindy around, he had to be the social one, and God, did he hate it. Finally, things were beginning to calm down, and he figured he could steal maybe five minutes of peace and quiet with Mindy.

Danny carefully tip-toed into the room, still not sure whether he wanted her to wake up or not. He had so much excitement built up in his body that he could burst, and there was no one he wanted to share it with more. On the other hand, that was a hell of a delivery that demanded some sleep. His fingers naturally found their resting place at her cheek, and she woke up to his soft caress.

Before she could even make a sound, he had desperately thrown his arms around her and pulled her tight into his chest.

“Ow, ow! You’re hurting me, Danny!” she groaned quietly, the lethargy slipping into her tone.

He loosened his grip and pulled back to look at her with a sheepish grin on his face. He couldn’t help himself from touching his lips to her forehead. “You’re the most beautiful mom I’ve ever seen.”

She hid the swelling in her heart with an unexpected remark. “Uh, you better be able to handle more than this, Danny,” Mindy gestured to the dark circles under her eyes and the loose, ill-fitting hospital gown. “I’m only gonna get hotter.”

Danny laughed and sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing his thumb across her hand. “I can’t wait.”

**Stomach**

On an average night, Danny would start his nighttime routine, which consisted of brushing his teeth, grooming, and of course, 100 push-ups for measure, at 10:45 and be fast asleep by 11:00. He prided himself on efficiency and taking care of himself, so other than when his and Mindy’s two babies were little, he stuck to his naturally formed schedule.

Mindy, on the other hand, was completely variable by nature. Did she want to watch all the late night talk shows? Was she going to watch a ‘90s romcom on the Oxygen channel until one in the morning? Or would she fall asleep immediately after finishing dinner because her day had just been too long?

The last one rarely happened, but Danny hated it when it did. It was comforting to fall asleep knowing that if he woke up in the middle of the night because he was being a worrywart, his wife was there to calm him down.

The night before the first day of school, Danny couldn’t sleep at all. He was surprised to hear Mindy’s soft, constant breaths signifying her slumber. He slithered down the bed to rest his head by her waist and slink his arm over the red silk of her nightgown. He leaned up and kissed her stomach, wishing that it could act as a protective layer for their kids forever.

Mindy stirred awake and narrowed her eyes at him. “Danny? Why aren’t you asleep?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, not budging from his place. Sometimes, Danny genuinely didn’t know what was bothering him. Other times, he just hated admitting that something did. He didn’t want Mindy to have to take care of him as much as she did, but she constantly told him, “We’re both works-in-progress, Danny. We take care of each other,” and that would reassure him until the next time.

“Are you worried about Seth starting kindergarten?” She gently rubbed circles on his back, bunching up the cloth of his gray T-shirt as she did so.

Danny pushed his head further into her body. “I guess. I mean, the kid’s kind of sensitive. What’s he gonna do if some little wannabe punk roughs him up or teases him about his obsession with plants?” His voice rose, laced with stress, “What’s wrong with our son knowing the difference between cherry blossoms and juneberry trees?!”

Mindy moved her ministrations to his graying hair. “Danny, he’ll be fine.”

He sighed deeply. “I just wish he didn’t even have to worry about what kids thought about him. Maddie, too. Other people’s kids suck, Min.”

“I know, but I mean, really, our kids have our genes. They’re awesome, and they don’t have to be like everybody else to be awesome. Their parents weren’t, right? You were a weird kid, and so was I.”

Danny lifted his head up in protest. “Hey! Hey! I was not weird, I was under a lot of pressure.”

Mindy wiggled her eyebrows. “Sure, you vagina nerd.”

The two of them continued their bickering until Danny finally fell asleep. Mindy silently made her way over to Seth’s room, thankful for fuzzy socks and carpeted floors. If Danny heard her even stir, he would wake up and freak out. His tendency to be overprotective about his family never turned off, but then again, neither did hers.

Seth looked peaceful, ready. Mindy only hoped she and Danny would be as ready to let go of him tomorrow.


End file.
